QUICK SIPs

Beechwood Inn
• What to know: 9866 Wattsburg Road (Route 8). 825-2999. www.beechwoodinneriepa.com.
• Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; and Sunday, noon to midnight.
• What's special: Happy Hour, Monday-Friday, 4 to 6 p.m. $2 domestic bottles and 25 cents off all wells. Free jukebox on Mondays with $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon drafts.
• What's cool: The "Big Wood" is a double-patty, special-sauce whopper, and the Beechwood Burger is a bacon-and-Swiss favorite.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
The Yaple
In a pint glass, pour:
- ¼ ounce of Bacardi 151
- ¼ ounce of Jose Cuervo
- ¼ ounce of Southern Comfort
- 1 ounce of peach schnapps
- 1 ounce of sours
- Add a dash of grenadine, twist of lime, and top with grapefruit and cranberry juice.
Yes, the Yaple is named for the family that sells and repairs vacuums and sewing machines in Erie. A Yaple entered the cocktail recipe contest at the inn and sewed up a victory.
-- Scott McClelland

Four miles south of Interstate 90 on Route 8, you'll find the historic Beechwood Inn. Even without precise directions, it would be difficult to miss this charming down-home-style bar and restaurant on the road to Wattsburg.

Harry and Lisa Keller, approaching their 10th anniversary as owners of the famous watering hole, tell legend of this locale as a stagecoach stop dating back to 1855.

Back then loggers and merchants traveled the fabled Wattsburg-Erie Plank Road ("plank" as in wooden plank). The bar survived wars, prohibition, disco and the digital age, yet it still retains the ambiance of a cabin in the woods.

The Kellers inherited the elaborate wood-carved silhouettes that cover the interior walls. Bears, mountain lions, deer and bobcats are among the animals depicted in the leafy carvings created by former owner Clark Leasure.

Perfectly accenting an amazing hand-carved bar and armrest is the wild game taxidermy mounted on dark wood-paneled walls with the imposing colossus of a moose head being the star of the show.

Harry Keller recalled a decade of improvements made to the celebrated old inn. "We paved the parking lot, separated the barroom from the dining room, refurbished nearly everything inside and out, but the biggest change was in the kitchen."

The Kellers gutted the old scullery and installed new ovens, fryers and a grill that produces the Beechwood's tantalizing charbroiled steaks.

The Beechwood boasts a menu that should have you marking your calendar. If prizewinning chili, homemade soups, meatloaf, stuffed chicken breast and a smack-yer-grandma liver and onions aren't enough to get your attention, try the all-you-can-eat fish dinner: every Friday, broiled or beer batter deep-fried.

A pool table stays busy under the nose of the giant moose, and free Wi-Fi lends a modern glean to the old saloon. The bar sports a new long-draw draft system that feeds six pulls, which include Magic Hat and seasonal Sam Adams offerings.

Friday has karaoke with Memories in Motion. Saturday also features karaoke and occasionally live music.

Take a ride down the road less traveled; the Beechwood Inn is still twinkling its warm amber light through the windows of time.

But don't worry. The road is paved.

QUICK SIPs

Beechwood Inn
• What to know: 9866 Wattsburg Road (Route 8). 825-2999. www.beechwoodinneriepa.com.
• Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; and Sunday, noon to midnight.
• What's special: Happy Hour, Monday-Friday, 4 to 6 p.m. $2 domestic bottles and 25 cents off all wells. Free jukebox on Mondays with $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon drafts.
• What's cool: The "Big Wood" is a double-patty, special-sauce whopper, and the Beechwood Burger is a bacon-and-Swiss favorite.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
The Yaple
In a pint glass, pour:
- ¼ ounce of Bacardi 151
- ¼ ounce of Jose Cuervo
- ¼ ounce of Southern Comfort
- 1 ounce of peach schnapps
- 1 ounce of sours
- Add a dash of grenadine, twist of lime, and top with grapefruit and cranberry juice.
Yes, the Yaple is named for the family that sells and repairs vacuums and sewing machines in Erie. A Yaple entered the cocktail recipe contest at the inn and sewed up a victory.
-- Scott McClelland